


Save us on Halloween

by AAM_writes



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Aged Up, F/M, Fluff, Halloween Costumes, Mutual Pining, Single Parents, halloween fluff, i don’t know how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 16:57:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21256601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AAM_writes/pseuds/AAM_writes
Summary: When Jughead is stuck without a costume for his son’s Halloween costume contest in school, who will save him if not Betty Cooper?





	Save us on Halloween

It’s Sunday late afternoon, Betty is relaxing on her couch watching TV and combing her daughter’s hair. Rosie is 7 and she resembles her father too much. Red hair and freckles immediately show her relation to Archie Andrews. And who would have thought that Archie, with his golden heart, puppy brown eyes and all kind nature, turned out to be the biggest asshole. He abandoned his then yet unborn daughter pursuing career of a music star and following a raven haired heiress of Lodge empire. At least his father stayed by Betty’s side and Fred adored his granddaughter. 

Since then Betty moved to a small but cozy apartment for not wanting to stay with her parents and worked in a Bookstore, again, to be further from her parents’ influence. She’s had enough of those and look where it got her. 

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Betty furrowed her brows and came to their door. On the other side stood her neighbor , Jughead Jones, holding his son’s hand.

“Betty, hi, save us, please”  
————————————————  
Sunday afternoon Jughead Jones is sitting frustrated at his kitchen table, his laptop in front of him and the rest of the table piled with essays to grade. Oh, he wishes he had an office, but he only could get a small apartment with the wage of an English teacher and being a single father. He turned his eyes to Ethan, his 7 year old son sat with colorful books. Well, at least here he took after father. Unlike Jughead, his eyes were brown and skin a bit darker. When Toni said she was pregnant, he was nervous, but excited. Despite being raised in a shitty family he always wanted one of his own. He and Toni were just hooking up from time to time, so her decision probably was expected, but it wasn’t welcomed. When Toni informed him that she didn’t plan to keep the baby and she thought she met someone to settle with, a girl, he begged to keep the child at least until birth. She gave them up pretty easy, not looking back or contacting them right after Jughead walked out of the hospital with his son. He changed busy New York for small quiet upstate town and gave up his editing job for being an English teacher at Riverdale High and writing his novel when he had time.

He loved fatherhood and thought he did pretty good job, at least he wasn’t an alcoholic trying to involve his son into gang like his own father. But the school Costume contest for Halloween caused him headache. He looked through Halloween costumes online and was shocked by its price, he certainly couldn’t afford it for a one time occasion. Then he started looking through ideas for Halloween costumes but they were either complete trash or too difficult to create for him. So he sat there at his kitchen table, a frustrated sigh escaped his mouth. It seems his last resort was to go asking for help from Ethan classmate’s mother, Betty Cooper.  
———————————————————  
“What’s wrong?” Betty is instantly worried, at least they look healthy, so they are not injured or sick. “Come in, guys” she ushers them inside her apartment.

“Ethan!” Rosie yells, happy to see her friend.

“Ethan, why don’t you join Rosie and watch TV, while me and you dad solve the problem”

“Okay, great” Ethan smiles and sits besides Rosie on the couch.

Betty turns back to Jughead “So...”

“Yeah... uh... sorry, I came unannounced, but this costume contest drives me crazy” Jughead mumbles sheepishly.

“Costume contest....oh my god! I totally forgot!” Betty realizes.

“So you don’t have a costume too...?”

“Jesus, no! And where do I get one? They are so expensive!”

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Jughead agrees “and I searched for ideas for handmade costumes and they either look like crap or are too difficult create. I may be good with words, but crafting is not my theme”

“Well... crafting is not a bad idea, maybe we can make something work together?” Betty smiles and blushes a little. And Jughead smiles in response.

After a couple hours of brainstorming and looking through various diy tutorial they agree on Woody and Jessie from Toy story, Ethan and Rosie seem to be perfect for impersonating cartoon’s heroes. Then they hurry for some late shopping at dollar store and thrift shop. They returned to Betty’s apartment by dinner and decided to order pizza and have a sleepover for children. When Ethan and Rosie were tucked in bed Betty and Jughead started to work.

Jughead watched fascinated how Betty were sewing yellow lapels on a white shirt for Rosie’s costume. Her bottom lip between her teeth, brows slightly furrowed, concentrated on her work. He always thought she was an angel, beautiful, smart, she got his sarcastic humor, was a perfect mother and her cooking skills... mmmm that was something else. But he never tried anything, as much as he wanted it, she was too good for him and if no one from all the bachelors fighting for her attention caught her eye, he obviously could hope for nothing here. But at least he could look and be her friend, that was better than nothing.

They finished costumes by midnight, Betty walked Jughead to the door, he will come in the morning to pick Ethan and they will walk them to school together. 

“Goodnight, Juggie” she hugged him and lingered a little longer.

“Night, Betts. See you in the morning” he leaned to kiss her cheek.

She wanted so desperately to turn her head and feel his soft lips on hers, but couldn’t find the courage once again.

Betty’s crush on Jughead started after about a week they knew each other. She admired him for such a brave decision to raise a child by himself, he was smart and so interesting to talk to. Always kind and attentive, and so, so handsome. Men shouldn’t be so handsome. She melted under his blue eyes and her hands always itched to tuck the lock of midnight hair constantly falling over his eyes. She liked to care about him and Ethan like about her own family, often inviting them for dinners, knowing that two men would probably live on burgers and takeout without her. But Archie leaving gave her so much self doubt that she didn’t dare to ask Jughead if he felt something more for her. Sometimes it seemed so, but he never made a move and she was afraid of getting her heart broken again.

————————————————————-  
Rosie and Ethan didn’t win the contest, but they happy without that, going for trick or treat with their friends. They had sleepover at Betty’s again, children exhausted from a busy evening were sleeping soundly on Rosie’s room, while Betty and Jughead sat with almost finished pizza and beer in front of the tv. It was probably two beers that gave her courage to do something, or may be it was just the sight of him, dressed in all black, his shirt clinging to his lean defined body, Holy hell, English teachers shouldn’t be so good-looking and sexy, she couldn’t bear it anymore.

“Juggie, I think I forgot to show you my costume!” she blurts.

“Huh? Why didn’t you wear for trick or treat with children?

“Oh... I... it wasn’t appropriate” 

“What? Why?”

“I’ll just show you” she murmurs and retreats to her room.

Jughead is waiting for her on the couch, still a little confused, but when he sees her coming down the hall all the air escapes his lungs.

Betty is wearing a fucking cheerleader uniform and she looks damn good in it. The skirt probably didn’t look so short in her high school days, but her legs are stunning, so he doesn’t complain. She’s foregone the thermal and wears only a top, which sits tighter than on a teenage girl. The look complete with knee high socks has him speechless.  
Betty is blushing and biting her lip. She is approaching him slowly and almost regrets her decision when she sees his shocked face. 

“Oh crap, I spoiled everything, didn’t I? Shit, I shouldn’t have... I’m so sorry, Jug... I ...”

But then his hand is on her hip, his thumb rubbing slowly on a strip of bare skin above her skirt.

He clears his throat “wow...” and looks up in her eyes. And when she sees his irises blown with desire she can’t help but smile slyly.

“Mr. Jones, I think I skipped a little too much English lessons because of cheer practice, is there a way how I can make up for it?”

“I can think about couple of ways...” he plays along

——————————————————————

“Mom, dad, let’s dress as Adams family this year!”

“Oh, Ethan, that’s a great idea” Jughead encourages his son.

“Mom, what do you say?” Ethan turns his eyes to Betty, it’s almost 3 years by now that Ethan calls her “mom”, he got used very fast as did Rosie with Jughead, but her heart still skips a bit and fills with warmth every time.

“Oh, honey, but Morticia has black hair”

“We’ll buy you a wig!” Rosie supports her brother

“Come on, Betts, that’ll look great, family costumes, we’ll crush them all” Jughead is as excited as his children by now.

“But Morticua is so tiny and I’m fat, it’ll look hilarious” Betty pouts.

Jughead then envelopes her in a hug “Baby, you are not fat, you are pregnant, and I dare say you are the most beautiful pregnant woman in the world, and I also think that Morticia was pregnant once or twice herself, she got her children some way” he smirks.

“All right, you win guys” she rolls her eyes.

“Halloween shopping!” Rosie and Ethan cry in unison.

**Author's Note:**

> I really don’t know how I managed to turn supposedly spooky event in a piece of Halloween fluff. I hope you enjoyed my lame attempts in writing. Find me on tumblr as aam-loves


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